


Finding love

by SophisticatedSnowman



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (very loud), Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Announcements, Anxiety Attacks, Anything is a volleyball if you’re in the mood to play, Art, Background Relationships, Best Bros being loud, Brotherly Love, Coffee, Cookies, Cooking, Cuckoo clock, Developing Relationship, Falling In Love, Friendship, Future Fic, Hot Chocolate, Implied Relationships, Love, M/M, Meddling, Moose head, Newspapers, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Personal Ads, Plants, Platonic Relationships, Pre-Relationship, Secret Relationship, Silence, Spice cakes, Tea, Trifle, Umbrellas, Wrestling, Wrestling attire, meat buns, milk bread, strawberry shortcake - Freeform, talking to plants
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 04:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21797791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophisticatedSnowman/pseuds/SophisticatedSnowman
Summary: Seen in the personal section of Tokyo Times; August 31.2025:Hi peeps, I'm looking for a man to fulfill my best friends life!!! My main man is tall, dark and handsome, with long hair and a seriously delicious goatee. He also sports the personality of an exceptionally startled ostrich. He has been my best friend since junior high and he's the most reliable and loving person you'll ever meet!!! He turns 30 on New Year's Day, and I just know he's secretly dreaming of a true loves kiss to tie the New Years and his birthday together.He enjoys tonkotsu ramen and volleyball, he has a glass heart so please be nice! Looking forward to hearing from you, I will be screening potential dates, but don't be scared, I only want what's best for my friend <3Please contact me on ace.libero@jmail.com
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Azumane Asahi (date), Aone Takanobu/Azumane Asahi (date), Aone Takanobu/Sugawara Koushi, Azumane Asahi/Sugawara Koushi (date), Iwaizumi Hajime/Azumane Asahi (date), Oikawa Tooru/Azumane Asahi (date), Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Sawamura Daichi/Azumane Asahi (date), Tanaka Ryuunosuke/Terushima Yuuji (one sided?), Tsukishima Kei/Azumane Asahi (date)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 20





	1. Noya Does a Very Noya Thing!

**Author's Note:**

> I continue my rare-pare mission! 
> 
> This is the story of how Nishinoya set out to find his best friend true love. I can almost certainly promise that not many people will leave this story without lifelong companionship!
> 
> Please enjoy!
> 
> I do not own Haikyuu!! Or any of the characters mentioned.

If you enter this one specific building in Downtown Tokyo, you know, the one with the almost purple door? Like a hundred meters to the left of the coffee shop with the amazing graffiti mural all over the front wall? Even over the windows!? Like seriously, it's amazing!!! Uh, the graffiti, I mean… If you walk up to the sixth floor and knock on the second door on your right you'll probably have a mix of the scariest and cutest thoughts of your life. The door will be opened by an adorable, slightly short, rather intimidating, young man who welcomes you in to his one room apartment with a big grin on his face. It's a square room, you enter at the top right corner, with a clothes rack on top of a shoe rack on the right, followed by a small wardrobe. To your left there is a kitchenette meeting a wall of windows, in the corner diagonally from you is an obvious sleeping area, with the end of an unfolded futon sticking out behind some makeshift room dividers. Other than that the room is sparsely furnished, a small dining table with two stools sits close to the kitchenette, a rather small sofa with a coffee table more or less in the center of the space, some shelves with some odds and bits along the walls, and a massive television on the wall opposite the entrance.

Since we both know you won't have the guts to knock on this door in the foreseeable future I'll give you a commentary of what's going on behind it, so buckle up and hold on tight, we are about to follow our beloved Noya in his quest of finding his best friend some true love!!!

On this particular day, Noya sits at his dining table unfolding his fresh copy of Tokyo Times. He's uncharacteristically patient today. He flips through the pages slowly, reading bits and pieces of every article until he comes to the personals pages. He reads every single word of every single advert; man want women; amputees preferred (whaaat??) gay man want to meet women for extra fun(…..) (????) he reads and reads, the adverts gets increasingly more distracting, when he sees:

Hi peeps, I'm looking for a man to fulfill my best friends life!!! My main man is tall, dark and handsome, with long hair and a seriously delicious goatee. He also sports the personality of an exceptionally startled ostrich. He has been my best friend since junior high and he's the most reliable and loving person you'll ever meet!!! He turns 30 on New Year's Day, and I just know he's secretly dreaming of a true loves kiss to tie the New Years and his birthday together.   
He enjoys tonkotsu ramen and volleyball, he has a glass heart so please be nice! Looking forward to hearing from you, I will be screening potential dates, but don't be scared, I only want what's best for my friend <3   
Please contact me on ace.libero@jmail.com

Noya reads the piece again and again. He goes for a run, reads it again, takes a looooong shower and reads it again, he eats dinner, and reads it again. After a long evening filled with arbitrary chores, constantly interrupted by reading the piece again, he gets ready for bed. For the first time in Noya’s life he climbs into bed, newspaper in hand. He shuffles some pillows behind him so he sits comfortably, pulls his covers over his lap and, for the umpteenth time that day, opens the newspaper. And then he reads it aaaagain!!!

What the hell has he done??? What was he thinking? There is no known universe were this, after all, is a good idea? Noya tends to follow his intuition, normally with positive results. But this isn't about him, it's about Asahi and all of his insecurities. How in the living crap of any holy entity is this a good idé????

  
-

  
Noya didn't sleep well at all that night. He kept tossing and turning. The times he managed to fall asleep, he had strange, nightmarish, dreams about all sorts of creepy people shattering the small pieces of confidence Asahi had managed to build up over the years.

He gets up at five, not wanting to actually become eternal enemies with his favorite pillow. At the push of a button his fancy coffee maker gets all the incentive it needs to start the process of making him some strong-ass espresso. The coffee is ready way too quickly for Noya's liking, he tries procrastinating the inevitable by turning on the radio, dancing a bit, spending twice the time he normally does on his morning bathroom routine and… He really can't put it off any longer, can he? If the stores were open, he'd probably go out and buy a boat load of paint and make a silly mural on one of his walls, but (luckily for both the walls and future Noya) they won't open for at least two more hours. Noya is uncharacteristically silent in the process of opening his run down laptop. He takes some time to check his social media accounts, but it's not long since he went to bed, and it isn't that much activity at night, after all. Noya takes a deep breath and clicks on his email app. He decides he needs more coffee before the app fully reveals the result of his stupid meddling. Once again his coffee maker works way to fast, and there is no turning back. Cup in hand, he slowly sits down in front of the screen, eyes half closed. He downs the coffee in one swig, opens his eyes completely, turns his focus to the screen and… 

Noya swears he's never been this close to actually dying before. His heart thumps hard in his chest and his breath shallows. There is forty two replies so far. Forty two!?! What has he done? He starts skimming through the emails, quite a lot of them are clearly bullshit. (Like; hi I saw your advert, do you know of a good recipe for pasta carbonara? Or; hi you seem like a good man, taking such good care of your friend, wanna go on a date with me? Utter bullshit like that…) Some of them are clearly written by other people who had adverts in the paper yesterday, what is it with gay men seeking women for extra fun, and people searching for amputees? Not that there is anything wrong with a bit of bisexuality, just own up to it, there's probably nothing wrong with whatever the amputee-seeking person wants either, it's just something really creepy about the formulations of their requests. 

There are others though who looks kind of interesting, borderline promising even. Noya quickly deletes the creepiest candidates, narrowing the pool down to twenty eight. He spends approximately an hour on replying to the carbonara woman, sending out some exercise advice to a sixteen year old, politely explaining to the one who wanted a date with him that he is asexual but always looking for new friendships, and so on. By seven o'clock he has narrowed the field down to nine, which is his lucky number so things are starting to look good. Some of the remaining candidates seems really nice. Even Noya can tell from the pictures that they are all really hot. There's a broad variety in looks and personalities as well, which is good since Asahi never really talks about what he looks for in a man. There's a couple of really cute ones, some of them look insanely buff, some look snarky and sarcastic and others are down right gorgeous. The hair styles on some of them, though! For the first time since he opened the newspaper yesterday, Noya feels like his ordinary happy and confident self. He just have to make a plan on how to do this without Asahi suspecting anything!

Noya closes the laptop and gets ready for work. Slim fit black jeans, a red and black checkered shirt, bright green socks, comfortable (not at all worn out) black boots and a loose, grey beanie. He will have to think a bit more about how he's going to approach this, and he always thinks clearer while working. It's like the more stuff that occupies his brain, the better it functions.

  
-

  
He arrives at the coffee shop three minutes later. As normal, he stops for a minute to appreciate the elaborate graffiti on the front of his shop. No matter what happens, he can never thank Terushima enough. Noya's coffee shop is a landmark. It's not possible to pass it without looking at the art covering the entire front. And, it doesn't really matter to him wether you judge it perfect or disgusting, Noya knows what kind of people he wants to enter his, rather well hidden, front doors. He's the talk of the town, well, the area at least. Tokyo is quite large after all. He hums as he picks the keys out of his pocket. Once the key is in the lock, he turns it, pushes the door open and sighs. Just the smell is enough to ease his mind. He's certain he’ll have an answer to his predicament before his working day is over.

Noya smiles as he walks through the doors. The room is long and narrow. Underneath a plethora of posters featuring bands from across the world, pictures of various artists and an enormous moose head, hung in bright red picture frames, you can almost see that the walls are painted a soft, grey colour. Along the left wall there are several boots with bright red, upholstered benches around black tables. To the right you have the counter, made out of cinder blocks, with a narrow, black, wooden counter top. Many of the holes in the cinder blocks are decorated with odds and bits, small flower pots with tiny succulents, tea lights, anime figurines, petite frames with notes or drawings guests have left, framed guitar pics and so on. Small, round, tables, most of them black, are scattered across the room, each accompanied with two or three, red, grey or white chairs. The tiles on the floor are mostly dark grey, but with the occasional red, white or black tile tossed into the mix. Along the windows, you find the classic, narrow, shelf with stools. A popular place to sit even though you can't look out due to the outside graffiti. Thanks to Ushijima there are luscious green plants placed on pedestals around the room. The atmosphere of the place might feel hectic at first, but it's oddly calming after a while and nobody questions the amount of love and devotion Noya's been putting in to decorating the place.

Noya takes a deep breath and walks behind the counter and into the kitchen, feeling his shoulders relax further. While tying his grey apron around his waist he ponders what today's specials should be. Every day he bakes a couple of things in the morning, just enough that the patrons can have something to nibble on with their coffee. Today he settles on his apple and cinnamon muffins and some chocolate chip cookies with oats and lime zest. Both are always big hits. He puts on some music and starts mixing the cookie dough. 

He lets his mind wander as he works, somehow he needs to introduce the potentials to Asahi without him suspecting a setup. A plan starts forming in his high-wired brain. Going through Asahi’s daily routine in his head, he tries to figure out the perfect timing to execute it. Asahi's a creature of habit, he comes in twice a day every weekday. First thing in the morning, before Noya even opens the coffee shop, for breakfast and a complimentary pep-talk. Then again on his way home from work, for his daily coffee, a treat and a workday debrief. Asahi loves his job as a kindergarten teacher, but all the social interactions with parents, at the start and end of his day, really takes a toll on his fragile persona. Noya feels a brotherly responsibility to care for the gentle giant, attempting to boost his confidence and guide him through the rough patches of his everyday life.

As he rolls up the cookie dough in cling film and places it in the freezer, he finally decides on a course of action. Each potential date are to be invited to the café about an hour before Asahi's afternoon visit. That will give Noya plenty of time to gauge them and consider in each case how to best introduce them to Asahi without causing him any stress or awaken any suspicion. A foolproof plan! Noya starts cubing the apples for his muffins.


	2. First date!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> CONGRATULATIONS!!!
> 
> You made it!  
> You are among the lucky people that gets the opportunity to have a date with my best friend!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally!
> 
> I have (sort of) reassembled the missing second chapter!  
> I do apologise for any grammatical (and other) mistakes, I just want to get on with this story 😊

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

You made it!  
You are among the lucky people that gets the opportunity to have a date with my best friend!

There were a lot of interest and I have read all of the replies thoroughly:  
Luckily YOU are amongst my top choices!!!!

I found that the nine of you represent different qualities, but similar morals that could entice my best friend! My hope is that all of you can bring something special to his life!

The dates will all be held at my coffee shop and I would like the opportunity to get to know you a little bit before the date.

My friend comes in for coffee every day after work around half past three so the perfect time to meet would be weekdays at three! If this is not suitable for you, send me your preferred times and I will make it work!

If you for some reason are no longer interested, please let me know!

Btw: I always want the best for the visitors of my coffee shop, I strive to make every visit special! Since you are *extra* special guests I would like the opportunity to make you personalised treats, so please let me know if there is anything in particular you really like (or if you have any allergies etc) so I can do my best to make you feel relaxed and at home in this potentially stressful situation!

I hope to see you soon!!!

Best regards   
Nishinoya Yuu

  
-

  
Aaaaaand send!

With that out of the way Noya could start preparing for bedtime!

  
-

  
The next morning Noya woke up with a headache. It wouldn’t leave as he went through his usual morning routine. Even his morning coffee did nothing to end it. As he sat down in front of his old evil computer, his second cup of coffee in his hands, he started to realise were the headache came from. Dreadfully he turned towards his computer, opening the email app. He watched as the screen-wheel turned around and around and around and around. Then finally (horrifyingly) there was the results.

-

HELLO!

I’m sorry for the rather rushed answer, but could I meet with your friend today? (Of course depending on when you see this, haha?) It’s not necessary obviously, but I have a really good feeling about this and I really Hope love good feelings!!! I can meet up at just about any other time as well, but I really want to get this <3ball rolling! I can be available on short notice (I am not as desperate as I seem, I promise!) I do understand if the remaining eight already answered and you have already picked out your friends potential mate, but please consider me as well. I might be just what he needs!

Love and appreciation   
Sugawara Kōshi

  
PS: I really don’t have any preferences in baked goods, but I am a kind of a spice freak!!?!!??? (Only mentioning it so you won’t skimp on the spices in whatever you decide to make, haha! Looking forwards to seeing you!)

-

Hello Mr Nishinoya!

Thank you for your response Mr Nishinoya! I would love to become your friend! I completely understand about the asexual thing of course, it’s no bother! You just seem like a very loveable person! And I want to be a part of that life you’re leading!

(Maybe one day we will be as good friends as you and “what’s his name” and you’ll be posting an ad in the papers to find me love, huh?)

Seriously keep me posted on how everything goes! I could be your partner in crime!

I’m (almost) just kidding, this is your story, but if you need anything just shout out ok? I’ll be here! And maybe you could need a strange, volleyball loving, friend in your life? Who knows? 

Lots of love 

Tanaka Ryūnosuke!

-

  
Okay, so what should he do now? Noya (quite loudly) thought.

Silently he screamed into the first napkin he could reach!!! 

Sugawara San really didn’t give him much time for preparation now did he? But how wonderful wouldn’t it be to have this stupidity rolling?

Noya immediately went to his kitchen area, a determined look on his face, to soak some spices for his special spice cake before attacking the computer again.

-

Hello Mr. Sugawara San!

I’m so happy to hear from you! You are, believe it or not, the first to respond to my message!??!!!?   
I am so happy! You seem like such an outstanding person and I cannot believe my luck in reaching out to such an awesome person!!!

I look forwards to meeting you around three! (Unless you change your mind, that is perfectly ok by the way)

Lots of love   
Nishinoya Yuu

-

Woohoo!   
Thank you so much for the opportunity Nishinoya san! I’ll be there at three!!! Thank you again for the speedy response!!!

Lots of love   
Sugawara Kōshi

-

Without much more fuss and care, Noya read Sugawara’s final response before he dressed for his upcoming work day. In a black shirt, bright blue pants with matching suspenders, pink socks and a pink wooly hat, he walked over to his coffee shop, a container of soaked spices in his hand. 

-

Upon entering the well known doors the usual feeling of familiarity encapsulated him.

A strange feeling of nostalgia made him take a slow entry. Slowly he walked through his beautiful coffee shop, fingers brushing against leafs, soft words spoken to every single plant, just as he had observed Ushijima doing.

After every plant had it’s fill of his attention, he calmly ventured into the kitchen, were he with his normal, but extreme confidence started the baking of spice cackes.

  
-

  
At five to three the coffee shop doors flew, quite unexpectadly, open.

Ever the entertainer, Noya’s head swirled towards the entrance, a bright smile on his face. The first glance of his new visitor almost literally made his head spin. 

The person walking towards him was just gorgeous! A fluffy light grey sweater under ice blue overalls? Topped off with silver hair and the cutest pale pink shoes Noya had ever seen! Noya stood there gaping like a toddler at their first visit to the zoo!

“Excuse me, hello, are you Nishinoya Yuu? I’m Sugawara Kōshi! I’m here to meet with your friend? You know the hunky, bearded and deliciously shy guy?

Shit, I’m to late aren’t I? You already found his true love? Ohh, that made me so sad! Do you serve anything that reduces heartbreak?”

At this point Noya almost doubled over from laughter. Knowing he had to appear professional, he harked out a single loud bark of laughter before gathering himself, standing up to his full height before he spoke:

“Hello Sugawara San!

It’s so nice to meet you, and to finally have this rather absurd ball of love rolling! And you really don’t need to worry! You are in no way late, you are still my first responder!

Seriously it’s so lovely to meet you! I just adore your outfit! You look gorgeous! Honestly, why are you so stressed out? Would you like a coffee and something spicy to nibble on?”

Sugawara San stared at him silently with big bright eyes as he sat down on a bar stool.

“Oh, thank you so much! I would really love both coffee and a special treat, haha!”

“I have such a great feeling about this! That’s why I’m suddenly so nervous!!!?! Have you ever felt like that? Like, you are about to embark on a very special journey? That every little thing you do can have dire consequences for the rest of your life? I have had this feeling ever since I read your ad and I can’t shake it, I have never felt anything like this before! I always thought that I never ever would respond to a personal ad. To be honest I mostly read them for the laughs, and because I’m a hobby psychologist, haha! Did you read the ones posted in the same paper as yours? Haha, anyway, your ad wouldn’t get out of my head and here I am! Very nervous but prepared for a major change in my life!”

“Oooooh ho ooohhh! Please call me Suga, by the way, I feel really uncomfortable with all the stuffy ancient politeness rules, yikes!”

Noya nodded politely at Suga’s rambling and smiled brightly before he left for the kitchen. A short minute later he returned with a generous serving of spice cake in his hand. He placed it gently in front of Suga, turning to make him a double espresso.

The conversation between them flowed smoothly from that point on. The two of them had a lot of similar interests and both were easy talkers once they were comfortable. Suga highly complemented Noya’s cakes several times. They were in the middle of a conversation about Suga’s job as a sports journalist and his many exiting and/or embracing encounters with sports celebrities when the doors to the coffee shop opened very silently.

A tall figure loomed in the doorway, head held low. The new arrivals head turned slightly towards the coffee bar before a rather shrill voice barked through the room:

“ASAHI!”  
“Welcome! Come and meet our new friend! Isn’t he beautiful? His name is Suga! He’s a sports journalist and he has met the coolest people ever!”

“Would you like to taste my new spice cake recipe by the way? I just know you and Suga will hit it off! How was your day? Are you stressed out? Hold on for a second and I will bring you that cake!”

When Noya observed Asahi slowly sitting down on the bar stool next to Suga, Noya slipped in to the kitchen were he prepared two new servings of cake, not wanting to be killed by Sugawara before they could even exchange phone numbers!

As he once again entered the front of the house he saw the most exciting thing he had ever seen. Suga and Asahi seemed to be talking without care, they looked almost comfortable even.

After Noya had silently placed the cakes in front of them he made Asahi his favourite tea. Once that was delivered, he “unfortunately” had to clean the coffee maker and wipe down the other end of the counter. There was surely some plants that needed watering and some dust to be dusted as well? 

The conversation between Noya’s best friend and the strange but lovable Suga kept going for quite a while. After about two hours (three servings of cake and coffee/ tea later) Noya considered it safe to return to the conversation only to realise both his best friend and his “date” had left. (There was a note on a napkin tucked underneath Suga’s last cup of coffee with a phone number, a wish of luck and a very sincere thanks for the opportunity.

So what now? Were had they gone? Would he ever see either again? Well, surely Asahi would accept his apologies if he ever found out about what he had done?

Ready for another rather sleepless night Noya closed the doors of his second home and walked home in a rather somber mood.


	3. Second And Third Date, Luckily Noya Made a New Friend!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dear Tanaka-san
> 
> Thank you so, so much for your beautiful email, accepting my proposal of friendship :D  
> It meant a lot to me, you certainly have a way to sway my asexual brain into believing in the good in people, haha!

Dear Tanaka-san

Thank you so, so much for your beautiful email, accepting my proposal of friendship :D   
It meant a lot to me, you certainly have a way to sway my asexual brain into believing in the good in people, haha!

So, that being said, this afternoon I supervised the first of nine dates (well, not everyone has replied to my email yet, but nine of the responders sounded genuinely interesting!)

Today's meet up went perfectly, the candidate were so charming (a real life contender for the free friendship spot, you better watch out, haha!!!) 

But seriously, I have never seen my friend open up this quickly, I'm actually wondering if we need more dates! But, I have already emailed the others to let me know, so we'll better see this through! 

Haha, in my head you are now officially my partner in crime, expect frequent updates and rants!!!

I have two more responds to go through at the moment. The first one is a very poetic but shy dude with white hair, he looks kind of intimidating in his picture, but if he is anything like his words then he is solid gold! The second one looks like a model and seemed a bit full of himself at first read, but at the second read through the vulnerability and honesty was impossible to miss.

This is turning out to be such an interesting week!

Have a nice day new friend :D

Best regards  
Noya 

-

Satisfied with his reply to Tanaka, formerly known as “I want to date you”, Noya concentrated once again on the more important topic; Asahi's next dates! 

The buff white haired dude, Aone, had written an exceptionally poetic email, mainly about his love of building, drawing and photographing snowmen. Apparently he was an artist of sorts, with poetry as his main artistic outlet. Aone seemed to be free pretty much whenever, so Noya quickly sent him a mail asking if the next day would be suitable.

The second one, mr “I look like a model”, Oikawa Tōru, had quite politely asked if there was any possibility of meeting on Saturday or Sunday, as his weeks were quite packed. Noya easily agreed, asking what time was most suitable.

Aone answered quickly and a meeting was set up for the next day, Noya's stomach started churning with butterflies yet again.

-

Ok, this was a disaster!

Fifteen minutes into the “date” and neither Ashai nor Aone had uttered a word to each other…!!!

Noya had tried sooo hard. Trying to tease words out of their mouths, tricking them into conversation with cakes and tea, puns and jokes, neither of them responded. Not a single smile appeared. A complete failure and Noya were at his wits end. 

Trying to force a lightbulb moment he entered the kitchen, opening tomorrow's to-do list, while searching something random on Google and talking to Kuroo, his assistant pastry chef/barista, about last weeks results. While scrolling down the results on “how to build a gazebo”, halfheartedly listening to Kuroo's description of a customer from a small place rather north in Norway, a four letter named place starting with an H and ending with ll, he finally got an idea!

He rather suddenly turned his back on Kuroo, clicked out of Google and entered the contacts list on his phone. Calling the last number he stored, his hands shaking a bit from excitement and nervousness.

“Sugawara Kōshi’s phone, how may I help you?” A pleasant and familiar voice chimed in Noya's ear.  
“Oh thank the gods you answered Suga! I really need you ASAP! We're having a blind date disaster and I have no one else to confide in. Can you pleeeeease come to the café and help out? I mean, this person just won't speak. At all. It's quite fascinating actually, except it confuses poor Asahi.”

Laughter chimed through the phone, forcing a large smile to appear on Noya's face.

“Of course, I'll be there soon! I was just about to text you and ask if it was safe to stop by. I really love you're place!”

Knowing that rescue was on its way, Noya once again entered the café only to realize nothing had changed. The two men sat at the counter exactly as he left them, looking at everything but each other.

-

Less than fifteen minutes later a slightly flushed Sugawara entered the coffee shop. A smile plastered on his face as always, he took a deep breath that no one except Noya noticed. Composed and cheery he settled down on the bar stool to Asahi's right, leaving both him and the newcomer, Aone, in his line of sight.

“Asahi!” Suga gently tapped Asahi's shoulder, waiting for the other to turn his attention to him instead of the rather oddly (considering this place never served savory food) placed salt and pepper shakers on the counter. “Thank you for a lovely afternoon, it's been such a long time since I made a new friend. I truly feel like you fit in the category.”

The blush on Asahi's cheeks grew visibly. His mouth opened and closed enough times for it to resemble a fish hitting solid ground for the first (and last) time of its life. “Ni.. N.. Nic.. Nice t.. to see you to Suga” he finally stuttered out. “Ha.. Hav.. Have you met.. Uhh.. Ehh.. Uhh. Ahh. Aone?” Ever the polite man, Asahi did his best to introduce the annoyingly silent man next to him.

“No, I haven’t! Pleasure to meet you Aone San” Suga proclaimed. “What do you do for a living? How old are you? Were are you from? How do you know Asahi?” Suga's stream of questions never seemed to end, and Asahi took his first deeply satisfying breath since entering the doors that normally brought him nothing but peace and quiet.

Aone on the other hand just looked at Suga. A steely glance holding the newcomer and his questions hostage. Not even Asahi's abrupt exclamation of having to leave broke their eye contact or Suga's never ending stream of unanswered questions.

Behind the bar, Noya let out a breath, thinking the worst was over. Immediately sending Asahi a text apologizing for the weird guests he had recently attracted and inviting him over for a relaxing cup of tea the same night.

-

The rest of the week came and went, more people responded to Noya's email, something Noya appreciated but decided to let be until the end of the weekend.

-

Sunday came around and Noya found himself waking up before daybreak, only to make milk bread. This was something he had never attempted before, but today's “date” claimed it was the most delicious baked good man ever created. So here he was, knee deep in an unfamiliar recipe, trying his best to accommodate a stranger he at first glance found self centered and unapproachable. Good thing Noya never let first impressions guide him!

Noon rolled by and Asahi innocently, but non the less awkwardly, stumbled through the doors. Noya had asked him if he could be the kindest person ever and come by to try a new recipe.

Asahi was half way through his milk bread, he had been silently moaning now and again, when the door bell chimed. Noya's eyes instinctively turned towards the open door just to see the most aesthetically pleasing person he had ever had the pleasure to meet. Asahi on the other hand was far to busy making soft love-noises while devouring his precious milk bread to even lift his gaze at the sound.

Noya nodded at the newcomer, gesturing for him to approach the counter. The newcomer sauntered over elegantly, taking a seat at Asahi's right.

“Wow! Is that milk bread?” He asked while leaning further into Asahi's personal space than no man had ever gone uninvited before. Noya, standing behind the counter, on Asahi's left side could see wide eyes growing even wider under chocolate brown bangs. “Is it good?”

The next thing that happened made Noya's heartstrings curl. Asahi looked up at those larger than life eyes, tightened his hold on his milk bread and confidently said “Yes. It's the best treat I've ever had!” Asahi turned his head slightly towards Noya silently asking him for help.

"WELCOME!” Noya nearly shouted in excitement. “Would you like something to eat? Drink? I'm Nishinoya Yuu! Who are you? Please call me Noya!” The questions and statements rolled of Noya's tounge much like they had done Suga's earlier in the week.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Oikawa Tōru,” the stranger said, side eying Asahi's milk bread, “I would really like some of that milk bread if I may, and a cup of something hot and sweet to accompany it please!” Noya turned on his heels to fill his order as Oikawa once again leaned over Asahi's personal boarders. “So,” he said with a playful smile on his lips, “who are you?”

Asahi took a bite of his treat as his cheeks turned slightly pink. “Uhm. Ihm. I'm Ahsjahii? Hmm, Azumane Asahi. Niche to meet chyou?” 

When Noya returned from the kitchen with a large piece of milk bread and a legendary sized cup of hot chocolate the atmosphere weren't as tense as he would normally have predicted, but still. Small talk hung in the air as slightly old helium balloons.

It was quickly apparent that Oikawa made a solid effort, the “problem” as usual, was the notoriously shy Asahi. He seemed to try, but his cheeks were bright red, his head ducked down, his posture screaming “save me!”

Noya easily swooped in, placing the cup and plate in front of his new acquaintance. “Here you go! Freshly baked milk bread and the largest cup of hot chocolate on this side of the hemisphere!!! Hope you enjoy!” 

Oikawa's eyes turned even larger than earlier, the look on his face indescribable. “WOW! This looks amazing! Is milk bread on your regular menu? If it is I will become your most frequent patron! It smells delicious! Did you make it from scratch? Your place looks so warm and inviting, I wish I could live here!” The words seemed to tumble out of his mouth like sugar from a sugar shaker.

  
"It's made from scratch, yes, but it's my first attempt so please be gentle in your review! If it's a success I will consider it for a more permanent part of the menu, but I frequently change the menu items according to the weather and the general vibe I get from the crowd!” Noya's mouth once again ran miles ahead of him.

While Noya spoke, Oikawa carefully lifted the pice of milk bread up to his mouth. His nostrils expanded. Eyes widened to comical proportions. Ears tilted forwards. His cheekbones sharpened and a small droplet of drool became visible at his left mouth depart. When he finally lifted the baked good all the way up to his, now slightly agape, mouth and tasted a tiny piece, he almost immediately moaned like it was the greatest experience in his life so far!

“Aaah!” His right arm went up to his mouth to wipe away the previously forming drool. “Oooooh! This! This is so gooood! I mean like really, really good! Sorry but I'm like the know-it-all of milk bread and this is delicious. Perhaps the best I've ever tasted! THIS IS YOUR FIRST ATTEMPT??? You must be kidding me!” Then Oikawa did the unthinkable, he stuffed his mouth with more of his treat, leaned into Asahi's personal space once again, desperately seeking eye contact, while chewing loudly and animatedly exclaimed “Seriously Asa-chan! Has he never made this before? He must be kidding me right? Tell me he makes it every day and that this is just an ordinary occurrence? Please?”

The rest of the evening went like that. Alternating between Oikawa occupying Asahi's personal space and Oikawa disbelievingly addressing Noya and his baking competence. All traces of romance seemed to have left the newcomers thoughts. 

When all the milk bread was eaten and Oikawa had finally left, Asahi didn't seem as down trodden as usual after a long day of socializing, but that could be written of by any kind of excuse. Noya was there, almost all the time. Asahi really liked the treat himself, he could have been to preoccupied to notice the rather annoying beauty sitting next to him.

There really wasn't any reason for Noya to worry about any romantic feelings forming between tonight's two counter residents!

  
-

  
Dear Tanaka San!

This adventure seems to be a bit more than I can chew! I mean this week I had a visit from a snowman-building poet who used NO WORDS WHAT SO EVER!!! AND to top it of: a billboard ready lover boy who orgasmed every time he bit into a piece of milk bread???!!?

What do you think? I mean, luckily, the gorgeous man from the first date somehow rescued me from the mute-snowman-building-poet, but the billboard-eating milk-bread-ready gorgeous dude seemed to actually not trouble my friend to much!?! Have I ruined Asahi? He never lets anyone give him a nickname without running away or scowling like a twenty feet tidal wave is crashing in on him… and this dude kept calling him Asa-chan like there was no tomorrow!

What am I to do new friend???

Best brogards

Noya!


	4. The Forth Date And a Minor Breakdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NOYA-SAN!!!
> 
> I'm so happy that we are now in fact best bros!  
> This whole ordeal sounds SOOOOOO exhausting, I wish I could be more helpful! Seems like for now your #3 is the best choice, in my heart I ship #1 and #2, they will definitely date each other before the end of the month ;)
> 
> Good luck, new friend!!!!!

NOYA-SAN!!!

I'm so happy that we are now in fact best bros!  
This whole ordeal sounds SOOOOOO exhausting, I wish I could be more helpful! Seems like for now your #3 is the best choice, in my heart I ship #1 and #2, they will definitely date each other before the end of the month ;)

Good luck, new friend!!!!!

Best bro wishes  
Tanaka <3

  
Noya found a warm feeling spreading throughout his body after reading Tanaka’s mail. You could never get enough friends, and this? This was definitely a friend! Taking a deep, soothing breath he continued down his list of mails.

  
Dear Nishinoya-San!

My name is Akaashi Keiji and I recently wrote you about your friend. I would like to request a meeting in the near future, preferably on a Wednesday, if I am to go with the time schedule you are proposing. I am of course available at other times if this is not longer suitable for you.

Kind regards

Akaashi Keiji 

Hey mr. Nishinoya

Iwaizumi Hajime, here.  
I was very happy to read your response to my, well response, hehe. I would really like to meet your friend, he sounds like an earth-bound man with his feet on the ground and that is absolutely something I lack finding in a friend/lover/boyfriend. Hope we can find a time soon, Thursday's are the best for me, but we can make other arrangements if needed.

Looking forward to seeing you.

Iwaizumi Hajime

  
-

During his Monday morning haste, Noya managed to answer the two next candidates before he, satisfied with himself, ran over to his coffee shop. 

-

The day went by quite uneventfully until three o'clock. The second the old moose head mounted to the wall, a cuckoo clock in disguise, grunted three times, the beautiful sight of Sugawara Kōshi walked through the door. 

Noya, wearing a bright red, long sleeved t-shirt, green slim-fit jeans, orange socks and low cut black shoes, looked envious at the vision that had appeared in his coffee shop door-way: the gorgeous Suga-San wearing pale-pink overalls and a large, comfortable looking, grey sweater.

Gulping down a compliment he wasn't ready to give, Noya directed a brilliant smile at his beautiful guest. 

“Hi Suga! It's so good to see you! How are you doing? Are you here to see Asahi? He hasn’t mentioned meeting you today? Not that it's a problem, there is no one coming today! Thank you for rescuing me with, uh, Aone? That was a lifesaving move. If there ever was a moment you were truly needed, that was it!!! So, how have you been?”

“Noya!!! Thank you so much, and seriously no problem, I really enjoyed spending time with Aone, he is truly special! I mean, the time I spent with Asahi! So fantastic, but meeting Aone changed something in me you know? I mean, his poetry alone makes my knees weak! I'm actually meeting him here today! I hope that's okay? I really want to continue developing my friendship with you and Asahi, but I think maybe Aone is my guy? You know?”

Noya looked at his new friend. Really looked. The only thing he could see was happiness and honesty.

“Oh my gods, Suga, I'm so happy for you! Don't forget that you still have two new friendships brewing though! I honestly think both Asahi and I will need you in the near future!” At this Suga simply leaned over the counter and gave Noya a short, but warm hug, whispering in his ear: “I'll help you if you help me!”

OMG TANAKA!!!!

You are totally psychic!  
Suga (#1) came in today for a date with Aone (#2)!!!

They looked soooo cute together. They sat for hours eating cookies and drinking hot chocolate. I think I'm in love with the idea of the two of them <3

Next meeting is Wednesday, a very polite sounding guy who is so beautiful even I could almost be persuaded to think of him in a sexual manner!!! (Not really though, don't worry!)

Much bro-love  
Noya 

-

Wednesday rolled around and Noya was his usual self. Stressed out trying to figure out what to make for Akaashi San, trying to estimate the damage he was making of his and Asahi's friendship and wondering exactly how wet he would get if he tried running the few meters to the coffee shop without an umbrella in the heavy rain.

He decided to go with the umbrella, considering how his pale purple skinny jeans would look soaked with rainwater, and the scolding he would get from Asahi if it looked as if he wasn't properly taking care of himself.

-

His morning coffee with Asahi went as normal, nice and relaxing. Deciding on a treat for Akaashi was a different matter. He really didn't know anything about him other than him being severely polite and proper. After much consideration Noya landed on a classic English trifle served in (not so classic) tall glasses. A sweet and sophisticated treat for a beautiful and (hopefully) distinguished man!

The second the moose head started shaking, announcing three o'clock, a literal angel walked through the coffee shop doors. The vision walked up to the counter rather confidently. He looked stunning wearing a pure black, slim fit suit over a bright yellow, almost golden, shirt. A perfectly sized black tie and a sturdy black umbrella made the outfit complete. The man looked like he was sculpted by the gods.

Noya felt his yaw drop. This was more than he had bargained for. How would Asahi ever, in any universe conceivable, be able to speak with such a god-like entity?

He felt his head spinning as the new guest approached the counter. “Hello, you are Nishinoya San I presume?” Noya bowed slightly in response. “I am Akaashi Keiji. We have recently exchanged emails about your best friend?”

“Yes, thank you so much for your response! I'm sorry, I knew you were beautiful from your pictures but actually seeing you face to face like this, you literally took my breath away and I'm totally asexual! How are we ever going to ease Asahi into this? I mean; you literally look like some entity or other. I don't even know…”

“Relax, I'm used to conversing with reluctant people, I work in advertising.”

Noya looked at him. Uncomfortable seconds passed before he suddenly broke into a hearty laugh. “Aaah, sorry for laughing, I know you're just being honest, I just haven't thought about it that way before. I never thought; bring in someone with advertising experience, that will do the trick!”

Akaashi Keiji didn't laugh, but his right mouth depart visibly twitched upwards. “Hmm, it hasn't worked that well so far. I am still exceptionally single. But if you consider my work experience a perk when approaching you're friend I will use it for all it's worth.”

At this, Noya’s smile grew almost as wide as it could get. “Of course! You would probably be able to challenge him even if you were an exceptionally silent poet wouldn't you?”

At this, Akaashi San frowned slightly, obviously not getting the reference.

-

They talked for a while, Akaashi San enjoying his trifle. They discussed everything from which clothing brand payed best for their adds to how to best care for different green plants. 

In the middle of a discussion on how and when it would be best to repot a monstera variegata, the coffee shops doors opened. The change in sound and atmosphere was so slight, Noya thought he must have been the only one to recognise it, but with a slight turn of his head he could see his guest also had reacted to the newcomer.

  
From the corner of his eye he could see Akaashi’s eyes widen, the now familiar upturn at the right corner of his moth, a slight rosiness to his cheeks. There was no doubt in Noya’s mind, Akaashi San liked what he saw!

“Asahi! You're finally here! I have missed you, how was you're day? Have you eaten? Want some trifle? I made it especially for today! Something about the weather you know? It sort of screamed for a traditional English treat! I think it's nice enough, but if you want a second opinion you can ask Akaashi San here, he's already on his second serving! By the way, Asahi; this is Akaashi San, a new friend of ours, he's really nice!”

Asahi stopped short, just a few feet inside the door, staring wide eyed at Noya, before his head slowly turned to Akaashi and a small, shy smile visited his lips. “Good afternoon Akaashi San, nice to meet you.”

They both looked in wonder, Akaashi with a tender smile and Noya with eyes wider than the once of a very surprised whale as Asahi slowly approached the counter and calmly sat down on the stool next to Akaashi.

  
-

  
Noya stepped in to the kitchen to fetch a new trifle on Asahi’s request. His hart was hurting, something was wrong. Asahi had never behaved like this before. He had simply walked slowly up to the counter, given a small bow towards Akaashi and asked Noya if he could please try his brand new recipe. It was almost like Asahi anticipated the new guest. Had Noya been found out? No! There was no reason to even consider that line of thought! Asahi was a sweet gentle giant with just about as many brain cells as a golden retriever, at least when it came to things considering people being attracted to him for sexual reasons!

-

Reentering the coffee shop, trifle in hand, Noya almost broke down with a severe case of the giggles. On the other side of the counter Akaashi was trying to spoon feed Asahi trifle, Asahi on the other hand seemed to embarrassed to try the offered treat. Noya silently backtracked and continued to watch the two through the semi-see-through window in the door.

It wasn't long before Asahi, red cheeks screaming murder, opened his mouth just slightly, but enough for Akaashi to gently push his spoon in between his lips. Noya turned quickly, returning in a slow but panicked jog to his safe haven; the kitchen!

  
-

  
“Kurooooooo! What can I doooo????”

“About what sweetheart?” Kuroo answered, way to calmly and overly seductive for a person who had known Noya for almost a decade.

“Asahi is letting Akaashi San spoon feed him trifle, how can you NOT see the problem in this Kuroo?” Noya was so agitated his hand with the trifle-filled glass shook so badly it almost spilled!

“Hmmm, Akaashi San, huh? Who's that sugar pie?” Kuroo answered, staring at Noya, while licking whipped cream from the next trifle-badge off of his fingers.

“OH! MY! GODS! You are literally NO help at all, Kuroo!!!!” Noya almost screamed on his way in to the freezer-storage-room-thingy, Asahi's trifle still in hand. Once inside the freezer, he sank to his knees, trying to slurp Asahi's perfected dessert into his mouth even though it was never meant to be slurped in any way. 

After a while he heard something resembling a knock on the thick freezer door, seconds later Kuroo’s face peeked through a slight opening, smirk in place, bangs hiding most of his face. Still, real concern could be read in his one visible eye as he asked Noya if everything was fine.

Things were obviously not fine so Noya chose to answer with an almost honest “yes?” before he returned to trying to slurp down Asahi’s now almost frozen desert, a quiet pout visible on his face.

The hands around his shoulders were there so immediately that Noya barely reacted as the now half-filled trifle glass shattered to the ground, breaking into a million pieces mixed up with a mess of cream and other gross things. He was in the air before he knew it and the next thing he knew he was sitting in the lunch room wrapped up in thick blankets. Kuroo was staring at him. His bangs was uncharacteristically swept aside and for the first time in Noya's life he cold see both of Kuroo’s eyes. It scared him more than the situation in the coffee shop.

"Now, I want you to tell me everything Noya, what are you doing, what's going on? You have been acting seriously strange the last few weeks, not only with the new items on the menu that only stays for a day, even though they are big hits, but you are clearly stressed about something, and that something seems to evolve Asahi. I know you, I know you are irrational and hasty in your decisions at times, and I really love and appreciate that about you, but you never act that way when a friend is involved. Asahi is your best friend, so he above all seems to be protected by your no nonsense protocol. So, answer me honestly: what exactly have you done?”


	5. It’s Thursday And The Fifth Date Approaches

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At some point Kuroo interrupted his speech asking him if he had observed any negative development in Asahi's behaviour. If any clue was given as to why this was so incredibly wrong.

Sitting there, shivering under his blankets, Noya told Kuroo everything. He told him about the ad in the paper, about the previous dates, about Tanaka and the rather cute person asking for cooking advice. He told him about Suga and his date with Aone. He told him about Oikawa’s sincere love of milk bread and about how it totally stressed him out seeing Asahi apparently letting Akaashi spoon feed him trifle.

He told him about how he thought he had made a mistake. That he should never have interfered in Asahi's life like this. How he should have respected his friends personal space. How he shouldn't have tried to force his bestest friend of all times into a relationship, when he wasn't even sure that was what he wanted.

At some point Kuroo interrupted his speech asking him if he had observed any negative development in Asahi's behaviour. If any clue was given as to why this was so incredibly wrong.

To this Noya could only answer that Asahi as of two weeks ago would never have let a stranger spoon feed him anything.

At some point, Noya remembered his own professionalism and returned to the front of his coffee shop, two fresh trifles in hand. He bowed slightly, first towards Akaashi, then towards Asahi, apologising for the rather extreme delay. He proceeded to ask if they were okay. 

Neither answered at first, then Asahi suddenly locked eyes with his best friend: “Well, I'm okay Noya, are you? You seem distraught? Is there anything I can do?”

At this Noya looked perplexed, Asahi had just offered him help. Asahi, in an unfamiliar situation had swallowed his insecurities and opted to help his best friend?

Noya opened his eyes, truly looking at the situation in front of him. Akaashi's trifle glass was empty, standing in the middle of the two men. Neither of them seemed uncomfortable. They were leaning towards each other in a familiar way.

The situation was quite clear. These two men at least weren't afraid of each other. Whether it was due to Akaashi's advertising career or if something had shifted within Asahi was impossible to know.

Whatever the reason, Noya chose to excuse himself, claiming everything was fine.

-

The next morning he woke with a jolt, thinking yesterday might not have happened. Stretching his arms over his head, he thought back, but not much stood out.

Ok, so a new day, a Thursday nonetheless, with new opportunities! Today would be absolutely brilliant!!!

As he left his apartment dressed in black overalls, a forrest green turtle neck and bright red doctor martens, he felt confident. The sun was shining and the fact that he forgot his favourite umbrella at work yesterday didn't matter much at all. Today would be the day they met with Iwaizumi San, a rather outspoken man if his emails were anything to go by. Noya had decided to make every treat he had served so far, just to see if he could categorise him more easily. With that thought in mind he skipped happily towards his workplace.

  
-

  
The moment Noya opened the door he started wondering how he so easily could have forgotten the fact that it was a Thursday. 

The first thing that met him was a deep hum. Someone was humming a lullaby, a pleasant, rather deep registered voice. As he looked up he was met with his regular Thursday morning live-comic-strip show.

Ushijima was, as per usual on a Thursday morning, walking around watering plants, humming to them, picking dead leafs, speaking softly to the ones in need. In his wake a rather excited Kuroo stumbled along, apparently trying his very best to stay quiet but failing miserably.

Noya stood in the doorway for a minute, just appreciating Kuroo's efforts at trying to woo a completely distracted Ushijima. Kuroo almost dancing around his love interest on his tip toes in an absurd effort to not bother him while simultaneously trying to attract as much attention to himself as possible.

Noya shook his head resolutely, trying to shake off the impossible sight he just witnessed for the umpteenth time, trying hard not to laugh out loud as he silently walked into the kitchen.

  
-

  
Once inside his safe haven, Noya opened his bright orange carrier bag and picked up his neatly packed spice cakes. Then he started on today's badge of milk bread.

  
-

  
Several hours and multiple random but content costumers later, the butterflies in Noya's stomach started rebelling. Once again his anxiety about ruining Asahi's personal life came soaring towards the surface, threatening to break through the surface.

As he watched the moose head welcome three o'clock with some grunts and shakes, Noya felt disappointment seep through every pore of his body as not a single person entered his quaint coffee shop. No one had entered for a solid ten minutes.

Was this the fluke? The one that wasn't really interested, the one that notoriously answered every ad in the paper, in the hopes of a quicky?

No! Noya refused to accept that, he would continue to expect his new costumer to arrive until he was proven wrong.

At ten minutes past three a man burst through the door, hair standing in every direction and sweat adorning his flushed cheeks.

“I'm so sorry! I ran late because of a seriously intense training match. I swear I would have been here earlier had it been remotely possible. Can you please forgive me and still give me the opportunity to meet with your friend? I swear I'm not often this late to appointments of any kind, time just flew by!”

A massive silence filled the coffee shop as Noya stretched to his highest, staring the newcomer in the eyes. Sparks flying towards the man dressed in… Ok he was dressed in sweats. Not only sweats, but clearly recently used sweats, he was most likely not lying.

“I'm, uhh, I'm Iwaizumi Hajime by the way, you're Nishinoya Yuu right? We exchanged emails? About your friend? I totally understand if this is a deal breaker but please give me a chance?”

At this Noya nodded slightly before turning on his heels, speed walking through the door separating the coffee shop and the kitchen. A minute later he reappeared with several plates, cups and glasses in his hands. Had you not known Noya you would never believe a single person could carry such an amount of plates, but with Noya it sort of made sense.

“Welcome Iwaizumi San! I have prepared several treats for you since you didn't specify any preferences! Please try them and give me your honest feed back! You aren't that late, Asahi won't be here for another twenty minutes, so we still have plenty of time!!”

A short silence filled the air as Noya left to shut the kitchen door.

“What do you do for a living then? I mean, I have no problem believing you're coming straight from work, you're eyes don't lie, but you show up for a possible life altering date dressed in already sweated out work out clothes? Do you really think this will win him over? You could've emailed me asking for an extension or just emailed me to informed me you would be a bit late? Please sit down, we have lots to discuss!”

Iwaizumi looked like the classic “deer trapped in the headlights” cliché as he looked back at Noya, his jaw had dropped, but he didn't seem able to relocate it to its proper place.

“Thank you for giving me a second chance?” Iwaizumi asked, a little intimidated by the slightly shorter man behind the counter.

At this Noya turned on the brightest of his honest smiles and turned fully towards Iwaizumi, to show he was really listening.

“I'm a wrestling coach, sorry for not mentioning that in our emails, but I have some bad experiences with people's “opinions” about my profession”

Iwaizumi looked genuinely sad talking about his own work. Noya stared at him as he seemed to fall in to a deep pit of thoughts, when suddenly he snapped his head up. Iwaizumi shook his head, much like the massive clock on the wall behind him would, and finally set his eyes on Noya.

“So, let's do this” he said with a grin, slamming a fist on the counter.

  
-

  
Fifteen minutes later Iwaizumi looked ready to barf from all the sweet treats and hot drinks he had been forced to taste. Noya didn't feel to guilty looking at the slightly green man in front of him, he sort of deserved a small sugar coma after coming in late for such an important date.

They were in the middle of a discussion about who were the most adorable dog breed: pit bulls or leonberger, when a voice suddenly interrupted their discussion.

“In my opinion, they are both gorgeous breeds, but I would personally go for a pit-bull. It's something about their protectiveness I really like. Hello by the way, I'm Azumane Asahi, nice to meet you!”

Noya was sure he felt his jaw drop as far as down to his knees when he looked up at Asahi. For the first time since he opened the coffee shop and he and Asahi started their daily ritual of morning coffee and afternoon debrief he hadn't noticed his friend enter the shop. Not only hadn't he noticed his entry, he hadn't even noticed him walking up to the counter, stopping and silently listening to their conversation. For the first time since he met his friend he had personally seen him introduce himself to a stranger. Not only a stranger, but a stranger who were clearly occupied with another conversation. Noya felt his head spin. Yesterday's anxiety threatened to pin him down again but he managed to grit his teeth and swallow the peak of it before looking up at his friend.

“Hi Asahi! I didn't notice you come in? This is Iwaizumi Hajime, he's a wrestling coach and..”

“Yeah, I know who he is Noya, he's not “only” a wrestling coach, he's also a former wrestling champion of Japan and an Olympic medalist if I'm not very much mistaking? It's an honour to meet you Iwaizumi San!”

“Nice to meet you to Azumane San. You follow wrestling? It's always nice to meet another fan of the sport! You actually look like you've wrestled yourself! Have you?”

At this Noya observed Iwaizumi stretching his right arm out, touching Asahi's left bicep in a rather seductive way, letting his fingers trace the rather prominent muscles. Asahi on the other hand just laughed, reaching over with his right hand, taking Iwaizumi's hand off of his upper arm and gently placing it back on the countertop.

“Haha, no I've never wrestled, really. But another one of Noya's recent friends is a big fan of yours! Remember Oikawa, Noya? The one who almost orgasmed over your delicious milk bread? Well, anyway, he's really just a random guest I ended up talking with I guess, but he is a huge fan of yours and I checked out some of your matches at his recommendation. You are really good Iwaizumi San!” 

  
At this Noya placed a strained smile on his face, asked Asahi what he wanted and left for the kitchen. Once inside his safe harbour he sank down to his knees. Breathing heavily, clutching his hands at his heart. He would not accept another panic attack to commence. He would ride this out and fetch Asahi's dessert. There were no reason to panic, he needed to remember that Asahi was actually a grown man, he actually had a full time job were he constantly conversed with strangers. But wasn't that exactly Noya's “job” in their friendship? To take the edge off of Asahi's stressful day. To be the person who relieved him of the stress of forced communication during the workday? Now Noya forced even more stress on Asahi, instead of relieving it. On the other hand, Asahi didn't seem upset did he? Noya tried to force that thought into his mind. Asahi seemed to be evolving into a more confident and mature man right before his eyes and that couldn't really be all that bad, could it?

"Noya? Noya! NOYA!"

Kuroo's voice forced itself through Noya's down spiralling thoughts, bringing him back to the present.

  
-

  
Before Noya exited the kitchen he peeked through the door, quickly learning not to interrupt a “date” without checking the progress. Asahi seemed completely taken by Iwaizumi San who clearly was an extraordinary storyteller. Iwaizumi's hands flew back and forth as he talked, his facial expressions spoke entire stories of its own.

Noya entered silently, placing Asahi's order in front of him with a smile. As he was about to turn and leave for the kitchen, not wanting to impose, his eyes caught a slight movement at the door.

He turned back just as none other than Akaashi Keiji walked through the door. Looking just as beautiful as yesterday, he walked up to the counter. His eyes shifted between the three of them, clearly trying to fixate on Noya. Neither Asahi nor Iwaizumi noticed the newcomer.

“Hello Nishinoya San, how do you do? I forgot my umbrella here yesterday, have you by any chance seen it? It's black and rather big?”

As he said this his eyes turned left to observe the situation slightly further up the counter.

“I hope its not to much of an inconvenience. I really should have called beforehand”

As Akaashi's voice filled the air both Asahi and Iwaizumi's attention turned completely. Noya looked between the three, wondering what they were all thinking in the moment.

"No problem Akaashi, I have your umbrella safely stored in the break room, just a second.”

Noya smiled at him and started towards the kitchen, as he pushed open the door he heard Asahi's voice clear, confident, almost unrecognisable.

“Hello Akaashi San! Nice to see you again! This is Iwaizumi Hajime, the Olympic medalist wrestler we discussed briefly yesterday! What a coincidence, huh? He decided to come by here on his way home from a training match!”

  
-

  
“KUROOOOO!!!”

Noya whisper yelled as he entered the kitchen. By the time Kuroo arrived, Noya was sitting on his knees laughing hysterically.

“He, they, wrestling, all of them, they love it, how? Do you understand Kuroo? Because I don't? Can you explain? Please?”

He could feel Kuroo pat his shoulder. It was a grounding feeling. Made him feel in touch with the world again. Until Kuroo’s voice broke through his thoughts.

“Who exactly is today's guest Noya?”

“Iwaizumi, apparently he's a wrestling coach who used to compete. Won some medals I guess. Now Akaashi came to pick up his umbrella and everything is a complete mess!”

“Are you saying that Iwaizumi f**king Hajime is in the coffee shop and you didn't tell me straight away? WHO ARE YOU????”

At this Kuroo patted Noya's shoulder a last time before leaving the kitchen to meet what apparently was his sports idol.

  
-

  
Half an hour later, Noya managed to retrieve the umbrella, walk out, deliver it, turn around and leave. His only memory of the exchange was an array of smiles and light conversation between five young men in eager discussion.


	6. Noya prepares for the sixth date and then some

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At this Noya snapped up on his feet. His eyes wide as standard sized UFO’s.

TANAKAAA SAN!!!

I’M CONFUSED :( !!!!!!!!!!

BESTBRO LOVE

NOYA

  
-

Dear Nishinoya San 

Thank you for considering me a potential mate for your best friend. I would be happy to meet at any given time, but preferably this Friday if I'm to go with your suggested time of day. I apologise for the late answer, I have been slightly occupied at work the last few days. I sincerely hope that I am still a candidate.

As to preferences in baked goods I must admit that I love strawberry shortcake, but anything strawberry related will please my pallet! 

Yours truly

Tsukishima Kei

  
Hi Tsukishima San 

I'm sorry for the late answer as well. Friday afternoon sounds nice, tomorrow or next week? I understand if tomorrow is to soon, but please know that you are welcome if that is the desired time!  
(You are not the last one to answer so please don't worry to much!)

I must say, I'm not certain of how successful this project will be though. There has been some dates already and right now everything feels like a complete mess to me. If you want to back out I totally understand.

Kind regards  
Nishinoya Yuu

-

  
Friday morning started as per usual, he had thankfully been able to get enough of a grip to check his mail the previous night and now he knew he would have a new guest this afternoon. His head was definitely not spinning at the prospect of yet another ruined “date”.

He dressed in his favourite kilt (a forest green with red, mustard and charcoal squares), grey knee high socks and a loose black v-neck sweater. Content with his looks he walked over to the coffee shop.

Entering the shop, everything seemed normal, to normal perhaps, at least something made him extra cautious. He slowly walked through the front room, checking every detail more diligently than usual before entering the kitchen.

Once inside the kitchen he immediately understood the insecurities he felt entering the shop. Kuroo was standing there humming and baking, generally doing his job. The problem? His attire. He were dressed in classic wrestling clothes…

Noya fell to his knees, thinking he would have to apply for early retirement soon if the stress on his poor knees wouldn't stop soon.

“KUROOOOOO!!!! Have we NOT spoken about WHAT TO WEAR IN THE KITCHEN??? I swear I love you as a brother and I wish you and plantman all the best luck in the world, BUT YOU MUST WEAR ACTUAL F**KING CLOTHES IN THE FUC**** KITCHEN!!!”

“Sorry Noya San, I’m really sorry! Yesterday got me a bit carried away though, haha, I mean, Iwaizumi was here. Iwaizumi Hajime! Like he's a national hero! Did you seriously not know? It's like the pope would walk in to a pub in Dublin and the bartender refused to serve him due to lack of identification papers…!!!!???”

Noya just looked up at him from his position on the floor.

“It was such a beautiful night Noya! I wish you would have joined us, the mood was so good, Iwaizumi is soooo down to earth, considering he's such a brilliant athlete! We talked and talked, Asahi seemed confident and relaxed, that Akaashi guy seemed completely star struck by Iwaizumi and Oikawa kept munching on your milk bread for at least an hour!”

At this Noya snapped up on his feet. His eyes wide as standard sized UFO’s.

“Oikawa San did what did you say? At which point did he even enter the f*ck*ng picture? When I left after delivering Akaashi's umbrella there were only five people sitting at the counter. You, akaashi, Asahi, Iwaizumi and… Oh shit! When, and even more importantly why? WHY did he appear? Kuroo? Answer me! Why was he there? Shit, this is slowly turning into an orgy isn't it?”

“Relax Noya, he only came in to see if we had any milk bread, and we did so he stayed and well, he ate it all, haha. He only seemed to have eyes for Asahi, even though he claimed to be really interested in Iwaizumi's career. He's a rather peculiar man, isn't he? Kept calling our national legend “Iwa-chan” as if they were old friends!”

“Ok, so everything seemed fine? Asahi looked all right? He wasn't scarred for life by socially interacting with so many people at once? Gods, what have I done? There's even a new “date” this afternoon! Can he handle it Kuroo? Can he, really?”

“In danger of repeating myself: Relax Noya! He will be fine. I have never seen him this confident and relaxed actually. He laughed and joked. He even patted Oikawa San’s shoulder a couple of times. He looked happy. At peace with himself and the situation. Please don't worry to much Noya, it will only make you age prematurely!”

At this, Noya nodded and walked over to his work station. He picked up a box of strawberries and gently started to rinse them. What should he say when Asahi came in for his morning coffee? Should he say anything at all? Or should he just pretend everything was normal? Was anything really wrong in the first place? Was this version of Asahi the version he normally was when Noya wasn’t present? Or was this a result of Noya's meddling? The questions kept coming and Noya once again felt his head spin. He drowned himself in the making of strawberry shortcake, soon it was noon without Noya realising Asahi never turned up for their standard morning coffee.

When he sat down to have his lunch he realised the missing morning ritual. He calmly finished eating before silently walking up to Kuroo. He stood just behind his favourite coworker, following his every movement, not saying a word. As Kuroo suddenly decided to turn he was rather spooked when he was met with Noya's deadly stare.

“Kuroo,” Noya spoke scarily soft, considering his cold stare, “do you have any explanation as to why Asahi didn't show up for his morning coffee? Please tell me there is a reasonable explanation as to why he weren't here this morning? I mean, this has never happened. Ever. He has NEVER SKIPPED MORNING COFFEE WITH ME!!! Were was he this morning Kuroo? I know you know something. Do not lie to me Tetsurō.”

Kuroo simply embraced him in a hug, whispering sweet consolations in his ear about how this was what Noya wanted and that he had to see this adventure through. There were guarantees of Kuroo telling him if this was actually hurting Asahi, and assurances that it so far were doing more good than bad.

  
-

  
The rest of the day seemed to go by pretty smoothly. An old lady complained about lumps in her chocolate chip cup cake at approximately twelve forty. A young man asked for Noya's telephone number at a quarter past one and at half past two a rather rude man with headphones on came in, ordering a cup of strawberry tea, sitting down in a corner of the shop. All of the above quickly leaving Noya's thoughts.

As the moose head yet again did it’s three o'clock shake, Noya instinctively looked disappointedly towards the front doors. He kept staring until he heard a sudden clearing of a throat very close by. His head turned quickly, startling him as he stared into the eyes of the previously headphone wearing rude dude.

“Excuse me, are you by any chance Nishinoya Yuu? If so I'm here to meet with you about a potential date with your friend?”

“Huh? Oh! You are Tsukishima San? You startled me, why didn't you say who you were when you came in? We could have had double the time to get to know each other!”

"Well, Nishinoya San, I'm not the most talkative person on the best of days, and you seemed very lost in your own thoughts when I first came in. I apologise for turning up so early.”

“Nothing to apologise for, Tsukishima San! I will fetch you some cake! Is there anything else you want?”

Noya barely waited to see Tsukishima slightly shake his head before he ran into the kitchen to fetch a pice of strawberry shortcake. At his return he could see a shift in the other man. Tsukishima’s nostrils expanded slightly, his pupils dilated, a small drop of saliva became visible at the corner of his mouth.

“Here you go, strawberry shortcake as requested! I have only made it once before, so please be gentle in you're review. I always welcome constructive criticism of course, as long as it's made on the knowledge of my competence level! Please enjoy!”

“You didn't have to..” Tsukishima started with his eyes turned on the cake, cake-fork already on it’s way through the top layer of the cake. 

“Ohmmhmmhh..” Tsukishima’s pupils turned even wider as they locked on to Noya's scared ones. “You were just joking right? You make this daily? You have entered contests, and won with this cake, right? If not, I'm at a complete loss for words.”

Noya looked up at him, a strange feeling of déjà vu hit the back of his mind as he told his guest that it truly was his second attempt at this cake. This statement were only answered by a slight but delighted moan from Tsukishima.

From that point and onwards their conversation flowed easily, like a small river in early spring. They were swallowed up by a discussion on which dinosaurs would be most likely to survive if their only edible resource were strawberries, when they were rather rudely interrupted by a coughing sound. They both looked up to see a massive creature looming over them.

“Hi Noya! Have we made Another New Friend? Would you like to introduce me perhaps?”

Asahi's voice sent shivers down Noya's spine. Any person not familiar with Asahi wouldn’t have thought about it, but Noya, who were so familiar with his friends moods, immediately reacted to the voice.

The problem was, there was not much he could do at this point other than continue to play completely innocent.

“Hey Asahi! This is Tsukishima Kei, a lovely young man who apparently loves both strawberries and dinosaurs! Luckily for him I woke up this morning with a serious craving for strawberry shortcake. Would you like a slice? It tastes rather ok, I had a piece for lunch. That's actually when I realised you stood me up for breakfast by the way! I know I'm a bit of a space head, but you have never not turned up for your morning coffee Asahi. What's up? Sorry, we can talk about whatever's bothering you later! So a piece of cake then? What about you, Tsukishima? One more piece? Something to drink?”

After taking their orders, Noya turned on his heels and marched into the kitchen. Once inside he stormed over to Kuroo and buried his face in his apron without any explanation. He stood like that for a solid five minutes, the perfect illustration of a human ostrich.

Once his anxiety had simmered down, due to the familiar smell of the kitchen and Kuroo’s gentle pats on his back, he finally managed to collect his guests orders and return to his beloved coffee shop.

You learn as long as you live they say, this saying doesn't really seem to apply in Noya's case. He had already forgotten his new policy of taking a second to observe through the door before exiting the kitchen.

His recklessness resulted in Noya once again walking in on a seriously conspicuous scene: Asahi and Tsukishima were already knee deep in conversation. Noya almost dropped his tray when he heard Asahi bark out a massive laugh. He had never heard his friend make that much sound in public. Ever.

He pushed himself forwards, carefully serving his two guests, all the while staring suspiciously at his friend. Asahi didn't look unhappy or uncertain. He looked calm and content. Something was really wrong.

“Hope you enjoy, I'll leave you to it.” With a small smile to his guests he retreated to the kitchen.

  
-

  
Dearest best bro

What's confusing you? Is everything okay? Anything I can do for you? I don't like thinking about my new friend all stressed out. Could we meet perhaps? You could talk it out with me and get an (almost) complete outsiders view on things? I am free the rest of the weekend, let me know if you want some ranting time and a bottle of moral support! (If you don't want to meet that’s perfectly fine, no pressure :))

Best bro-wishes  
Tanaka.

  
Noya read the email three times before sending a quick response asking if Tanaka could come by the coffee shop the next morning. He could feel his shoulders relax at the thought of some friendly advice. This might not be as bad after all.


	7. Best Bros Meeting For The First Time!!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At one point dream-Noya found himself standing at the counter starring at a massive painting of a waterskiing snowman that had apparently been mounted on the wall directly opposite his favourite hang out spot.

This particular Saturday morning were to bright for Noya's liking. His dreams kept revolving around Asahi and the previous dates. At one point dream-Noya found himself standing at the counter starring at a massive painting of a waterskiing snowman that had apparently been mounted on the wall directly opposite his favourite hang out spot.

As he finally woke up his mood brightened slightly, remembering his upcoming visit from his new friend. Dressed in a bright pink fluffy sweater, charcoal jeans, green suspenders, bright pink socks and his favourite green converse he left his tiny apartment, ready to tackle the new day.

  
-

  
Entering his beloved work place, Noya was filled with peace once again, he double-checked the wall opposite his favourite hang out spot, not finding any giant snowman painting. He nodded slightly to Terushima who was working silently with something in the corner, Noya sighed contentedly as he turned towards the kitchen to start today's work.

  
Half an hour later Kuroo walked in, finding Noya in the middle of making cinnamon buns, croissants, milk bread, short bread, melon pan, orange, coconut and white chocolate chip cookies and an array of other baked goods, all at the same time. Noya was smiling, seeming rather content with life overall.

  
For the next hour Noya were up to his elbows in doughs and batters. Raising, forming, cutting, baking, plating. His focus was completely centred towards his morning work. The result, of course, were magnificent. The result truly showed how dedicated he was as an artist.

  
-

  
At 9am he proudly opened the coffee shop doors, completely ignoring Terushima still fussing over some artwork in the corner. The moment he opened the doors a majestic presence revealed itself! Then the noise hit his eardrums like an avalanche.

“NOOOOYYYYAAAABROOOOOOO!!!!! ITS SOOOOO NICCCE TO SEEEE YOOOOUU!!!! ARE YOU FEEELING ANY BETHER? IS EVERYTHING ALRIGHT? THINGS ARE UNDER CONTROL? CAN I PLEEEEAAASE HUG YOU???”

The last part was shouted into his ear as a pair of long arms wrapped, semi hesitantly around his upper body, Noya tried to nod an affirmative but he was already wrapped up in a soul crushing hug.

Slowly, as Noya managed to get control over his limbs again he raised his arms and wrapped them around the intruder, causing Tanaka to have his own breathing problems as he learned just how much power was packed in to the little fire cracker he called a new friend.

  
-

  
After what felt like an everlasting hug finally ended, Noya at long last got a serious view of his new friend. A man slightly taller than him, with a seriously professional buzz cut, looked back at him with expectant eyes. His eyes clearly conveyed trust and hope. Noya inwardly struggled for a short while before his lips split into a giant grin.

“BROSAN!!!! HOW’RE YOU DOIIIING???? SERIOUSLY! IT’S SOOOOO GOOD TO SEE YOU!! WOULD YOU LIKE SOMETHING TO NIBBLE ON? OR SOMETHING TO DRINK? I’LL BE RIGHT BACK!!!”

Noya felt his heart flutter slightly as he turned with his new friends order in hand, trekking into the kitchen once again.

He could easily see the question in Kuroo’s eyes as he entered the kitchen to grab some melon pan. It was a look screaming: “when did your confidence suddenly reappear?”

Noya returned the look with a grin and a drinks order for both him and his best bro Tanaka.

  
-

  
When Kuroo entered with their drinks, Tanaka was already more than halfway through his melon pan and kindly asked for two more servings, before politely asking if Noya wanted anything, his treat!

Noya on the other hand still wasn't feeling all that hungry, so he politely declined.

Their conversation after that flowed rather flawlessly. They were like long lost brothers finally reconnecting. 

  
-

  
“So, why are you looking for love? You seem like a very lovable person, I don’t understand how you haven't found your person yet?” Noya asked after a while.

“I don't know really, I'm really not that good with people I think. I mean, you see that guy over there? The one with the paint and stuff ? Yes, him! He's like sooooo my type, but I swear if I go over there and introduce myself I would be shut down immediately. It’s quite tragic actually!”

At this Noya couldn't help laughing loudly! 

“Shut down by Terushima!!! I doubt that very much….!!!! Terushima is a very experimental person, you would have to do just a liiiitlle bit more than introducing yourself to get blacklisted from his potential dating list!!!”

“Are you serious??? He looks soo cool and collected!!! He knows just what he's doing! And look at that hair…!”

Noya reluctantly looked over at the corner were Terushima were painting something random, considering him in a way he had never thought of. The result was the same indifferent shrug he always gave, “not for me…”

“Ok, so I am still exactly as asexual as I told you I am, but I somehow see the appeal between the two of you! I could try to get you a date with him if you like? I mean, I'm quite certain he’s single?”

From that point on the conversation flew fast between Noya’s predicament and Tanaka’s newfound infatuation with Terushima and back. When the two of them finally decided to end their meeting it was with a promise to meet up again soon. Noya continued the rest of his day as planned, smiled a bit to himself when he saw Suga and Aone cuddled up over some hot chocolate in one of the corner boots. Terushima had vanished some time during the morning, probably with a good bye nod Noya had been to preoccupied to notice.

  
-

  
Finally at home Noya once again fired up his run down computer to check for any stray responses.

  
Hello dear sir!

I am very sorry for my late response but I have been on a business trip. I know that would normally not be any kind of excuse, but the thing is, we were stuck at an airport with such poor WiFi that it was impossible for me to send you my response. I am truly sorry and I hope with all of my being that you will still give me a chance! Please, I truly am a responsible guy, I promise!

Ok, now I only sound desperate. I assure you I am not. If you are still interested I’m available at three Tuesday this week! If that doesn’t work for you, please let me know and we will find a more suitable time.

With sincere hopes of a positive answer. 

Sawamura Daichi

  
-

  
Hello Mr. advertisement guy Sir!

I have been severely delayed in my response to you due to circumstances not up to my hands. I do apologise and hope you will forgive my late response. I am still very intrigued by your description of your friend and the overall feeling you gave me through your advertisement. I sincerely hope you will have time for me first coming Wednesday! If not, please send me more appropriate times! (If you have already found your best friend a new person, please be gentle in your refusal of me. It took a great deal of my confidence to write you in the first place )

Yours sincerely   
Bokuto Koutarou


	8. Something Is Up Between Noya’s Employees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Monday morning Noya decided that if there ever was a time to call in “sick”, this would be the day.

Hi Best Bro San!!! 

Thank you for meeting up with me! It was in my opinion purely legendary! You are nothing less than my brother from now on! Seriously! You have made my life so much easier during this trying times! I know very well that I put myself in this position but YOU have so far made it bearable! So once again thank you!

After our meeting yesterday I received two more responses, leaving only one! I almost want to decline and say everything is now resolved, but then again I can’t stop thinking about Suga’s (#1) perspective of the whole thing. He felt so drawn to the ad, he couldn’t let it be. The two people that recently answered seemed so sincere in their explanations and reasonings that I can’t really find reasons to NOT include them further…

Oh my gods… this is quickly getting out of my hands isn’t it?

Very well, onwards we go! At least now I know I have you to catch me on the other side!!!

Noya

-

  
Dear mr Sawamura San!

I will accept your apologies and let you have a chance at meeting my friend. Firstly I want you to know that this has so far been a strange journey (at least for me). You are the third to last person to respond, and with the meetings I have arranged so far I can’t say I have been close to reaching a positive outcome. I might just be incredible bad at reading my friends needs. But you are very welcome on Tuesday at three if you’re still interested!

Best regards   
Nishinoya yuu

  
Confident in his response to mr Sawamura, Noya copied the message and glued it into his next conversation. Changing the name of the recipient he hit send. 

Neither Sawamura nor Bokuto seemed to have any particular tastes they wanted showcased during their dates so Noya could at least try to let the coming week seem normal!

-

Monday morning Noya decided that if there ever was a time to call in “sick”, this would be the day. He wasn’t sick by any means, but he had never felt so unequipped to meet his best friend as he felt that day. And besides everything, he fully believed that Kuroo could handle his responsibilities for one day. It wasn’t Thursday after all!

With that in mind he sent a quick message to both Kuroo and Asahi, letting them know he would stay at home that day before he started preparing for the next day. The gods knew he would not rest just because no specific wishes for the next dates were given! Noya spent the rest of his “day off” trying out new recipes and tasting them all by himself.

At the end of the day he looked puzzled at the results. Most of his ideas were savoury baked goods. He usually stayed far away from savoury foods, but the items tasted nice. He considered the fact that Sawamura San’s tale of being trapped in an airport could have swayed his normally sugar coated mind, but didn’t worry to much about it.

He went to bed rather satisfied with the results of his day of gastronomic experiments. There was a strange thought in the back of his mind though, more like a feeling perhaps. Like something was wrong. The feeling of leaving the oven on or forgetting something equally important? Still, he couldn’t get a grasp on what it was, and he had a very restless nights sleep.

  
-

  
The next morning he dressed rather dully in a dark navy turtle neck, maroon boot cut jeans with matching suspenders, black socks in knee high mustard yellow Doc Martens. Since he opted out of wearing a hat he spent about half an hour on fixing his hair.

Finally happy enough with his looks he left for his home away from home. A small folder of new recipes and a container of ingredients not normally used in his coffee shop in his hands. 

Finally ready to welcome a new day he started whistling one of his favourite tunes!

  
-

  
Once Noya entered the coffee shop he had a strong feeling that something had changed. It wasn’t anything palpable, but still a very strange feeling. He decided to not think to much about it, he would find out eventually after all!

He entered the kitchen with less enthusiasm than normal, mostly because of his extreme lack of sleep.

Once inside he was met by a strange sound. The last time he checked he wasn’t working at a woodworking facility? But, the sounds coming from the depths of his beautiful kitchen sounded exactly like someone was using a massive saw on an even more massive tree trunk? Perhaps interrupted by a woodpecker from time to time? All in all a very odd noise considering this were a coffee shop…

Noya walked as silently as he was able to in to the depths of his wonderful kitchen space to find out what devious things were unfolding.

Expecting ghosts or extra terrestrial species feeding of off his rather expensive ingredients, he found himself holding a spatula in his right hand. Containers of food and folders with new recipes were left for dead somewhere behind him.

As he rounded the corner to the break room he finally left his guard down. Inside he saw the cutest thing any animal lover could ever see: an array of long limbs were strewn all over the couch, some of the limbs led to an extremely tousled head of hair.

To Noya’s defence, a sleeping Kuroo is not normally observed in the wild! The cutest part though, the part that made Noya turn around very silently, the part that made Noya go back to his kitchen duties ready to do two peoples work? Underneath Kuroo’s even more than usually unkempt hair was Ushijima Wakatoshi’s lap. 

Kuroo had at one point either 1: fallen asleep on plantdude or 2: plantdude had found Kuroo sleeping on the couch deciding the best would be to act like a pillow for the childishly overgrown cat Kuroo obviously was.

Noya could not disturb that perfect moment! (He did of course activate the surveillance cameras in the area, making sure there would be perfect footage of Kuroo as he woke up!)

  
-

With all that done he continued with his day. Unfortunately he was a bit busy when Asahi came in for his morning coffee, he excused himself with the fact that “Kuroo hadn’t showed up for work” and that it was probably “something that was going around”. 

  
-

  
Sometime later a bewildered, euphoric and scared looking Kuroo came stumbling through the kitchen doors. 

“I’M NOT FEELING TOO WELL, I’M GOING HOME!” was nearly shouted at Noya before Kuroo’s real life bead head bolted out of the front doors.

Noya turned around seconds later to see a very calm Ushijima Wakatoshi exiting the kitchen with a humongous watering can in his hands. He briefly nodded towards Noya before he started on his plant watering rounds.

  
-

  
Around lunchtime Noya finally thought about checking his mail. 

He had a beautiful new response from the carbonara person, asking for advice on snow cones as well? A reply from the exercising teenager, once again thanking and asking for further advice. A short but kind mail from Bokuto explaining he might be a bit late. The, by now, daily email from Oikawa requiring whether there would be milk bread on the menu today. Sawamura san had sent a mail to confirm their appointment. 

Noya did his best to answer them all, but once again he got a bit carried away in recipes and exercise advice. Well, he managed to confirm with Sawamura San after all. He could respond to Bokuto later!


	9. Surely Nothing Goes Wrong On The Seventh Date?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Afternoon Kuroo San. It’s good to see you’re still as good of a shot as you used to be! If you had improved I might have had to buy a new suit!”

Multiple things happened simultaneously as the moose head started grunting and shaking, announcing three o’clock that Tuesday:

-The phone rang.  
-A very handsome man walked confidently through the doors.  
-A customer changed the music on the jukebox to one of Noya’s favourite vintage songs.  
-Kuroo, who had very confidently returned around noon (without a word about why he came back, but with a mysterious smile on his face) missed a step and sent several drinks and pastries flying in the direction of the counter.

With a strange smirk on his face the new arrival barely missed the drinks and pastry missile haphazardly launched towards him by Kuroo. 

“Afternoon Kuroo San. It’s good to see you’re still as good of a shot as you used to be! If you had improved I might have had to buy a new suit!” 

Noya almost swooned from the deep voice filling his coffee shop.

“Hello Sir! You must be Nishinoya San?”

Noya bowed his head slightly in confirmation before looking up at the very handsome and broad chested man standing at the counter. 

The man in front of him was dressed rather simple but elegantly. A black fitted suit, a neatly pressed orange shirt and white dress shoes made the man look modern but individual. 

“Yes I am, but please call me Noya, I don’t really care about the whole formality thing you know? You must be Sawamura San? How in the world of badgers and unicorns do you know Kuroo? And do you really believe it’s a sane thing to acknowledge such a friendship at the start of the most important date of your life???”

Noya once again rose to his full potential trying to intimidate his guest.

Sawamura San stared back at him blankly for a couple of seconds before a rumbling laughter filled the room. 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t even think of the consequences of recognising my former rivalry with that smelly ally cat! I was just so taken aback by seeing him as he obviously was by seeing me, considering he threw half a meal my way whilst pretending to stumble on a non existing door step that I couldn’t help myself! Yes, by the way, I am Sawamura Daichi, but please just call me Daichi. Thank you again for this opportunity. Just so you know, Kuroo and I were volleyball opponents in high school, we had a rather serious rivalry going. I think we might be over that now, or what do you think Kuroo?”

At this Sawamura San leaned over the counter to look down at his former opponent (possibly for the first time, considering the height difference clearly wasn’t in his favour in any normal situation.)

“Oh, is that you Sa’mura I didn’t see you there. I tripped on my own rather long feet, you know the feeling? Ohhhh, sorry I forgot, you don’t (at this point Kuroo rose to his full height) do ya’?”

Kuroo and Daichi glanced at each other. A strange sense of sentimentality, happiness, sadness and contentment seemed to fill the air.

-

Twenty minutes passed, Daichi and Kuroo were catching up on were their lives had taken them since high school and Noya randomly tried to get to know Daichi. 

Noya tried to get Daichi’s attention by bringing him fresh meat buns. It didn’t really seem to work, he got his attention but Kuroo claimed it back instantly. 

-

At some point Noya stood in his kitchen holding a cold wet towel against his forehead, trying to gather his thoughts and come up with a plan on how to get Daichi alone, when he felt a warm and comfortable presence behind him. 

The arm that suddenly warmed up his shoulders felt both familiar and foreign at the same time. It was like the warm embrace of home but at the wrong place? 

He turned around and saw, as he suspected, Asahi holding him closely. 

“Are you alright?»

At this Noya just smiled weakly at his best friend, leaning deeper into the embrace.

“Is the handsome man out there talking with Kuroo a new friend of ours? He seems nice? I mean, he is the first person besides you and plantdude that can actually make Kuroo shut up for a second!”

“Haha, yeah he is a new friend and he is really nice! He used to play volleyball you know??!”

Noya looked excitedly up at Asahi before looking down again uncharacteristically shy.

“But… I know I’m a bit stubborn at times, right? Even if I say that “we” made a new friend you don’t have to like them? I mean please tell me if I overstep? Sorry if I’m not making any sense, I’m a bit confused right now…”

“Hey! Noya you’re my best friend, but do you really not have any idea of what you do for me on a daily basis? I would be a small shoe print in the dust of strangers if it weren’t for you! You personally bring me back to life whenever I’m at my worst. Never doubt yourself in front of me, it’s a reason that I trust you over anyone else. You are my compass!”

“But…”

Noya kept looking at Asahi with an apologetic look, but couldn’t find the words he needed to explain his feelings.

“I smell meat buns! Have you seriously made savoury food??? Without notifying me??? I’m going out there and I expect a solid portion in front of me as soon as possible!”

At this Asahi turned on his heels and walked swiftly out of the kitchen.

Noya starred after him for a second. Exactly when had their roles reversed? When had Asahi started being for Noya what Noya used to be for Asahi? Had it always been like this without Noya even noticing? Had Asahi always been there for Noya as well? 

Shaking of the strange feelings that made him doubt himself, he quickly as possible made a large portion of meat buns for his bestest friend before he determinately returned to the counter. 

When he arrived he instantly regretted his full hands. He seriously needed to rub his eyes, but he had exactly zero free hands to rub said eyes with.

At the counter he found Daichi, Kuroo AND Asahi talking together as if they were old friends.

Noya placed the meat buns in front of Asahi just as the moose head decided to call half past three.

“I MADE IT!”  
  
A load rumbling laugh echoed throughout the room, and everyone’s eyes turned towards the newcomer. 

Kuroo and Daichi turned as one, Kuroo with the biggest grin imaginable plastered on his face, Daichi with a more sober, melancholic look. Asahi turned his eyes towards his meat buns and started eating like there was no tomorrow.

Noya reluctantly moved towards the counter again, both curious and anxious of what was going on. 

The first thing he saw stressed him out more than anything he had witnessed over the last weeks.

Kuroo was reaching for one of Asahi’s meat buns. Daichi quickly stood up and created a barrier (although a rather short one) between Kuroo and the newcomer. Kuroo threw the meat bun high up in the air before he jumped and spiked the bun towards the new arrival. Daichi tried his best to block the meat bun-missile, but sadly failed. 

Milliseconds later the whole coffee shop broke into applause as the hero of the day jumped and caught the meat bun with his mouth before landing elegantly with his hands raised in victory. The stranger gave Daichi a powerful pat on the back, before giving Kuroo a high five that sounded almost as painful as the pat Daichi’s back just received.

The next seconds seemed like a blur to Noya, too much happened at the same time. Daichi dived towards the counter, clutching his hands tightly over his ears. Looking desperately between Asahi and Noya, moving his elbows up and down as if he was imitating a chicken. He screamed very politely at them to cover their ears.

As Noya and Asahi confusedly raised their hands to do as they were told, they could hear why.

Collectively Kuroo and the new guest started screaming unintelligible sounds at each other. At some point though Noya realised what they were screaming and was immediately confused. He could swear Kuroo was shouting “Bokuto” over and over again? Noya knew that name, that was the name of tomorrow’s blind date. Why was he here now? What had gone wrong?

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed, kudos and comments are always highly appreciated ❤️❤️❤️  
> Lots of love!!!


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